Austin is a major developer of offices and hotels along Florida’s west coast, with a major concentration of developments around Tampa’s airport. Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Austin to the board overseeing this airport after Austin served as a major fundraiser for Bush’s ’98 campaign. 
Austin is credited with recruiting Pioneer Robert Martinez for his successful run to become Florida’s first GOP governor in 20 years. Austin headed a major developer lobby initiative in the late ‘80s for a huge increase in state highway spending. Austin has been active in the Florida Council on Economic Education, which seeks to instill teachers and students with an appreciation of the market economy. The kids might find food for thought in an idea Austin’s father developed that has yet to catch on: a ready-to-eat dinner in a bottle that he called “pickled chicken.”